Youth unemployment exceeds one million

The record rate for youth unemployment is now above the one million mark.

Details released this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the jobless figure for 16 to 24 year olds rose by 67,000 over the quarter to reach 1.02 million.

The ONS said: “The unemployment rate for people aged from 16 to 24 increased by 1.7 percentage points over the quarter to reach 21.9 per cent of the economically active population for that age group.

“The number of unemployed people aged from 16 to 24 increased by 67,000 over the quarter to reach 1.02 million; this figure includes 286,000 people in full-time education who were looking for part-time work.

“The unemployment level and rate for people aged from 16 to 24 are the highest since directly comparable records began in 1992.”